Fire in Stenner Glen apartment raises suspicions

The cause of a fire in a Stenner Glen apartment Sunday afternoon is currently under investigation, according to the San Luis Obispo City Fire Department (SLOFD).

SLOFD was called to Unit 7 of the apartment complex at 12 p.m. on Sunday, according to fire marshal Rodger Maggio. The blaze was reportedly in a second-story bedroom, and the fire department was able to contain it to the room.

The fire department was initially alerted when the room’s fire alarm went off.

“We had an initial report from a system detector in the building, and the report got called in by the alarm company,” Maggio said. In addition, the fire department was alerted by a third-story resident and the apartment manager.

The fire department found smoke billowing out of a vacant room with only a bed and mattress burning. The fire subsided easily, according to Maggio.

“We took a hose and knocked down the fire in the room, so the damage was limited to the one room,” he said. “I would say it took less than ten minutes.”

The investigation as to the fire’s cause is ongoing, considering the fact that the room in question was vacant at the time.

“The suspicion is that it was a vacant room, and had been vacant all last quarter,” Maggio said. “The suspicion is that some kind of heat source was introduced into the room, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it was an arson.”

The interviews being conducted by the fire department along with the San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) are meant to determine which residents were present during the fire. The time frame as to when answers are expected is undetermined.

“We have all the natural heat sources and have been conducting interviews, but we don’t have a definitive cause,” Maggio said. “It depends on how quickly we can get ahold of the people who were living there and find out where they were and what they were doing, and if they were there at all.”

Though the damages were limited to the room, renovations will be necessary.

“The drywall would have to be replaced, but there was no structural damage,” Maggio said.

Residents in neighboring bedrooms have been moved to another building while the area is repaired. The fire did not lead to any reported injuries.